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Academy Awards 2015: Predictions

Tomorrow morning at 8:30 am (Eastern Standard Time), I’ll be ready with pen and paper in hand, watching the live announcement of the Academy Award nominations. As usual, I didn’t try to figure out the short film categories since I never have any clue what’s in the running. Otherwise, all categories are present and accounted for.

Best Picture (top 10 candidates, if the Academy chooses to nominate so many films):Birdman; Boyhood; Gone Girl; The Grand Budapest Hotel; The Imitation Game; Into the Woods; Nightcrawler; Selma; The Theory of Everything; Whiplash

[The four absolute locks are Pike, Moore, Jones and Witherspoon. For a while I thought that the fifth spot might go to Marion Cotillard for Two Days, One Night, but when the film didn’t make the Best Foreign Language Film shortlist and Cotillard failed to earn nominations from the BAFTAs, Golden Globes and SAG Awards, I figured she was out of the running for the Oscar. Aniston is my guess for #5, but I wouldn’t count out Amy Adams for Big Eyes. I would be surprised if the fifth spot went to someone other than Aniston or Adams.]

[The BAFTAs threw a curveball by nominating Foxcatcher’s Steve Carell in the Supporting Actor category, but I assume that he was put in the lead category for the Oscar ballots. So unless Carell takes Duvall’s spot – or maybe Josh Brolin can take that same place for Inherent Vice – I think that this will be the final five.]

[Jessica Chastain is a contender for A Most Violent Year and some wishful thinkers are predicting Tilda Swinton for Snowpiercer, but I feel confident in my choices. Laura Dern also has an outside shot for Wild as support for the nomination that the Academy will undoubtedly give to Reese Witherspoon – a repeat of what happened last year with Cate Blanchett/Sally Hawkins for Blue Jasmine.]

[*By rights Whiplash should be considered “original,” but… the Academy had bizarre ideas about that. Also, Wild is a strong contender and it could knock out either American Sniper or the misplaced Whiplash.]

Best Animated Feature Film:Big Hero 6; The Boxtrolls; How to Train Your Dragon 2; The Lego Movie; The Tale of Princess Kaguya

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:The Grand Budapest Hotel; Guardians of the Galaxy; The Theory of Everything

Best Original Score:Gone Girl; The Grand Budapest Hotel; The Imitation Game; Interstellar; The Theory of Everything

[Mica Levi’s score for Under the Skin has probably won more awards than any other score of the season, so by rights she should be one of the nominees, but neither she nor the film has enough heat to generate an Oscar possibility, unless something really crazy happens.]